Monday, May 9, 2011

"BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Republic of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO-Bangalore) and Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. It is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. It is about three-and-a-half times faster than the USA's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. An Air launched variant is also planned which is expected to come out in 2012 and will make India the only country with supersonic missiles in all the defence forces. A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development with speed of Mach 6 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready by 2016."

There are no starwars rockets, that program never really materialized. We do have a few different kinds of ABM systems, some are experimental others are in use. I do not know what can hit something moving at mach 3+, but I suspect things like THAAD could get it. Also the PAC-3 var. Patriot. Even a gatling gun could possibly take one down with a bit of luck.